Genesee

The site of present-day Genesee was located within the Nez Perce Reservation by the Treaty of 1855. It fell outside the reservation under the controversial new treaty in 1863, a year after the Homestead Act was passed by Congress and three years after gold was discovered at Pierce, Idaho.  Idaho territory was also formed in 1863 with Lewiston as the short-lived capital. As a homestead could not be claimed until the land had been officially surveyed, major settlement around Genesee would not occur until the first surveys were completed in 1870-1871. 

Main Street in Genesee, no date, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 06-02-03.

In 1870, John P. Vollmer, Alonzo LeLand and a man named Stone, who was the agent for the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, made a trip from Lewiston up Cow Creek.  Stone mentioned that the area reminded him of his home in the Genesee Valley of New York and that is how the town and valley got its name. “Old Town” Genesee was established in 1879 on the main Nez Perce trail that would become the first stagecoach road from Lewiston.  A fort was built in the town in 1877 in response to the Nez Perce War, but there were no hostilities and the fort served as the local school. Ten years later, the town had 45 inhabitants with a general store, hotel (stagecoach stop) and a post office.

The east end of Genesee looking North, 1910, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 06-01-15.

In 1888, Vollmer and partners brought the Spokane and Palouse Railroad (soon to be part of the Northern Pacific RR) to the area.  Due to a problem with getting land for the railroad in Old Town, Vollmer platted a new town site one mile west of Old Town.  During this same time period, Latah County was carved out of Nez Perce County and Genesee became part of the new county.  “New Town” Genesee grew very rapidly and by 1890 had over 1,000 people and was the major shipping center for agricultural products from as far south as Grangeville.  By now, “Old Town” had been abandoned.  New Genesee would enjoy rapid growth and prosperity until the railroad arrived in Lewiston ten years later.

Main Street in Genesee, no date, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 06-02-06.

The incredibly rich farm land surrounding Genesee has supported the community over the years through several ups and downs.  For example, the town suffered a setback in the early 1950s when Hwy 95, which went through town, was realigned, bypassing Genesee. Again, farming and the close proximity to Moscow and Lewiston, both university communities, have kept the town going.  Genesee is today a small community with just under 1,000 citizens. The town is well known for its excellent school, productive farmland and for the Pacific Northwest Cooperative (PNW), the largest farmer’s cooperative in the Pacific Northwest.

A parade of automobiles in Genesee, 1914, courtesy of the Latah County Historical Society, 06-02-013.

References:

Boone, Lalia Phipps. From A to Z in Latah County, Idaho: A Place Name Directory (Lalia Phipps Boone, 1983), 37.

Otness, Lillian W. A Great Good Country: A guide to Historic Moscow and Latah County, Idaho. (Moscow: Latah County Historic Society, 1983), 167-168.